6,000+ Comcast volunteers lend a hand

Much of Comcast’s volunteerism is an extension of the global media giant’s technological expertise.

In its Denver-based Mile High Region, the publicly traded company’s major philanthropic efforts include its Internet Essentials program, Digital Connectors, and technology access and training program through the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver.

“There are three key areas we focus on because we want to have an impact — developing tomorrow’s leaders, volunteerism and digital literacy,” said Cindy Parsons, vice president of public relations and head of community involvement for Comcast’s Mile High Region. “Comcast has a consistent history of giving back to local communities … but we’ve expanded that through programs like Internet Essentials.”

Rich Jennings, senior vice president and top executive for Comcast’s local operation, believes his company’s interest in community partnership and diversity, combined with its media and distribution resources, “can bring visibility to important issues, connect people together, and spur positive and substantive change for all the communities we serve.”

Founded in 1963 and based in Philadelphia, Comcast’s two main businesses are Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is the country’s largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider, under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal operations include 30 news, entertainment and sports cable networks; the NBC and Telemundo TV networks; and the Universal Pictures movie studio. The company reported $62.6 billion in revenue in 2012.

Comcast employs 130,000 people nationwide, including 6,500 in Colorado. The state has the company’s second-largest concentration of employees after its Philadelphia headquarters.

“We can leverage those assets to help strengthen our communities,” Parsons said of Comcast’s large employee pool. “Using our media to tell stories, getting employees engaged … The company believes strongly in that.”

Comcast Cares Day, an annual day of community service, is one of the company’s biggest community efforts and exemplifies that commitment. In 2012, more than 4,600 volunteers participated in the event, and Cares Day beneficiaries received cash grants of $86,000 from The Comcast Foundation. This year, a record-breaking 6,000-plus people turned out for the event, completing 27 statewide service projects such as planting trees and cleaning up parks.

Comcast’s community efforts start at the top, according to Parsons. Senior management in metro Denver act as board and committee members for nonprofits such as the Denver Public Schools Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado Inc., MiCasa Resource Center and Mile High United Way. The company is a big United Way supporter, contributing $400,000 to the organization this year.

Denver-based MiCasa, started in 1976, is one of Colorado’s oldest and largest Latino service organizations, providing career and business development education as well as after-school enrichment programs for kids. The nonprofit offers one of Comcast’s community programs, Digital Connectors. Created in 2009 for teenagers and young adults, Digital Connectors is a free after-school program that teaches skills needed to succeed in the digital world, from creating a multimedia portfolio to how to be professional at work. The program also requires students to perform community service.

Comcast employees also mentor MiCasa students interested in working in the telecom industry, conduct field trips to Comcast facilities and, once a year, help do maintenance at the nonprofit’s facility, such as painting and gardening.

The company provides students with tools such as netbooks and flip cameras.

“We really value Comcast as a partner,” said Karen Fox Elwell, MiCasa’s director of Youth & Family Development Programs. “They’re more than a company that provides funding; they also partner alongside us. … Over the years, we’ve provided feedback to them, and they’ve used that information to adapt their programs.”

Another major Comcast community effort is its Internet Essentials program, started in 2011. Internet Essentials has become the country’s largest broadband adoption program, helping more than 150,000 families have access to the Internet, including some 10,000 families in Colorado, according to Comcast.

Families with kids who get free/reduced-cost school lunches can enroll, and pay just $10 a month for home Internet service. Participants also can buy an Internet-ready computer for about $150 and get free digital literacy training.